The Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation for the welfare of dogs. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it has been legally registered in the United States, Australia, France, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.[1] Its primary goal is to care for homeless and abused dogs in Thailand. It was established by a British couple John and Gill Dalley with the help of Margot Homburg Park in Phuket in 2003.[2]

The foundation has saved dogs from illegal trades, particularly for meat, and tries to reduce free-ranging dog by sterilisation. Soi is a Thai word for "street". Sterilisation programme has been extended on stray cats. It gets support from international celebrities including Dame Judi Dench, Laura Carmichael and Ricky Gervais.[3][4] The campaign in 2014 led to the enactment of the Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act, the first animal welfare act in Thailand.[5]

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Thailand is known for its stray dogs, serving of dog meat, and trading of dogs. There are dog butchers, dog tanneries, and holding centres for illegal trades. Many dogs are exported to Vietnam and China for dog meat.[6] Dog trade involves smuggling by organised gangs.[4] Thailand's largest island, Phuket, is the major centre of such activities, and is the home of stray dogs.[7] The Thai Veterinary Medical Association reported that in 2011, half a million dogs were traded to Vietnam and China.[6]

These dogs are trapped and collected to be sold in the market or pass on to traders for export. The dogs are treated badly that due to congested packing in the transport crates, they are suffocated and a number of them dies in the process.[3] Seeing the appalling situation, an American-born Margot Homburg Park decided to join hands with a British couple, John and Gill Dalley. John Dalley, is a retired chemical engineer from Leeds, England, and Gill is a former bank employee. Gill Dalley passed away after a short battle with illness on February 12, 2017. "[1][8] They had moved to Phuket for a retired life. John Dalley remarked, "We had a dog back home [in Leeds], but I wasn't particularly involved with animal rights. But you see these dogs [in Thailand] suffer, and you want to do something to help them."[6]

In 2003 they established the foundation by opening a clinic and recruiting veterinarians on volunteer to take care of homeless dogs. For their name they chose the Thai word Soi, which means "street", hence, the organisation literally means "stray dog foundation". They started sterilising and vaccinating stray dogs. In 2005, it was officially registered, becoming the first animal welfare organisation in Thailand. In 2011, a permanent clinic was opened in Bangkok. The foundation's slogan is "Trade of Shame". As a result of its vaccination effort, Phuket is the only Thai province that is declared free of rabies.[2]

The foundation sterilises over 10,000 stray dogs every year to reduce the population living on the streets. It keeps around 1,000 homeless dogs under care.[7] Soi Dog foundation has now started sterilising stray cats as well.[2] Its task force has intercepted a number of dogs intended for transport to Vietnam. The workers from Soi Dog have exposed illegal dog butchers, dog skin tanneries, dog reservoirs, resulting in the rescue of dogs. Dog export has been reduced to one-third of that in 2011.[6]

British celebrities Judi Dench, Laura Carmichael, Peter Egan, Penelope Wilton and Ricky Gervais made a public campaign to support the causes of the foundation in 2014.[4] The foundation also made public petition for the government of Thailand to take action on cruelty to dogs and dog meat trading. The petition has been signed by almost 1,200,000 people.[3]

Other than the officials in the foundation, honorary ambassadors include Dena Kaplan, an Australian actress, singer and dancer;[10]Natalie Glebova, a Canadian model and writer who became the Miss Universe 2005;[11] and Kyle Leask, an autistic boy, and his dog Miracle, winner of the Eukanuba Friends For Life award.[12]